Flying geese border

The pale yellow rose material was a gift from my grandmother

I love the colors.

While most would have set the flying geese pattern flowing in the same direction all around, I decided to have them flow from a central corner and down. It represented the flow of a river by my old house in Alaska. The water would flow from the glacier, split for miles, and then converge before emptying into the ocean. Bold colors fascinate me and just tend to make me feel happy. I loved the idea of using traditional patterns to anchor my piece.

included in the border is a very pale yellow rose print. My grandmother gave me a small bit of it before she passed away. Less than a quarter of a yard. I had no information past the design and color since it seemed to be from her scraps. She asked me to use it and I have. Four of the flying geese have it. And you can see it above here, the middle picture.

The top is almost finished. I have one leaf and six acorns left to hand stitch. Then it’s on to the real quilting stage. Since I don’t have a machine here, I’ll be hand stitching. Scary thought for me. I’ll have to see if there are any 12 or 14 inch quilting hoops here. I’m doubting it, but you never know. I looked through my sewing box and seemed to have left my Aunt Becky behind. Now hand stitching is going to be a lot more difficult. I can try and rig something for the Aunt Becky, but it’s going to be a challenge to hand stitch without a loop.

Here’s a close up of the stitching, if you’re interested.

Two of the acorns I have to finish stitching.

I’m looking forward to getting this part done so I can move on to the actual quilting.

Peace, I’m out.

This half of my room is where I sleep. That's an air mattress and is so much nicer than the bed I originally had in here.

*posted late b/c I forgot to hit publish so it stayed as a draft until this morning! So I updated it a bit.*

This is my room. Well, part of it anyway. I had them come and pick up the captain’s bed that was causing so much trouble to my back at night. An airmattress has replaced it and OMG does my back feel SO much better! I set it up in a daybed style for a few reasons. It keeps foot traffic away from the bed so it’ll less likely develop a leak, it’s tucked away in a corner so I can lean against the wall when I’m watching movies on my laptop, and it lets me sleep with my back against a wall.

*I slept like a rock last night.

I can't help but hear someone say "Dur" every time I see a stop sign. For those too young to remember it, "Dur" was before Homer Simpsons' signature "Doh."

It’s Day 9 over on this side of the pond (and while I upload this picture for the THOUSANDTH TIME) starting on my family’s side as well. As we’ve passed our first week, I’ve noticed a few things…the beginning of a week is harder, emotionally, for me. I feel like my heart starts all over in the counting cycle. My family is holding down the fort with strength, determination, and just enough humor to keep themselves from going insane.

Things I’ve learned over the past week.

1. While the sign you see before you is, in fact, a stop sign…they are only suggestions to those who are Turks. I was even told, eh, those are for the Americans. We use this! And a laying of the horn commenced. LOL.

2. The internet is incredibly slow. So slow, in fact, that it makes me want to scream in frustration when I’m uploading images. I have to find non-peak hours to do it.

3. When our spirits are low (my husband, my kids, or me), we do our best to pick each other up. It’s a beautiful and amazing thing.

4. Sometimes the family who adopts you is more than you’d ever imagined a family could be. Thank you, guys. The support back home fills me with awe and tears. You rock!

5. Never underestimate the siren song of sleep. Apparently, or so I’m told, your body needs it so will force it upon  you when you least expect it. Namely, immediately after work when you’d just laid down to cool off a bit.

6. I miss Jerry’s cooking. A lot.

7. And this is a constant one…I miss my family. I knew I would, but I didn’t know how much or how hard it would hit us all. I love all of my kids. I hope I’m a good stepmom to four of them and just a good ol’ mom to the youngest one. Your smiles make my day brighter.

I love you guys.

Immediately to my right was the most amazing beginning of a sunset I've ever seen on the East Coast. The architecture of the skylights fascinated me for some time. I had nothing else to do during the 6 hour delay.

I’ve learned patience when dealing with airlines. People are people no matter what job you see them in. Some are great with customer service, others not so much. I had a six + hour delay in Baltimore. Instead of letting us know what was going on, the lady at the desk kept switching us from one gate to another until I felt like my head was going to explode from the stress.

I watched the sun set right after I took this picture. It was gorgeous. Why didn’t I take a picture of the sunset? I’m not sure. Blame exhaustion LOL!

I miss my family. More than words can say.